New York

And Stefanik started before she even had an opponent - this kid did his secret recordings back in May. And he's definitely with the Stefanik campaign, they call him an "unpaid intern..." He just wasn't paid by her...


Stefanik says teen who taped Cobb video is unpaid intern

GLENS FALLS — U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik on Wednesday said the 17-year-old who secretly recorded Democratic opponent Tedra Cobb is currently an unpaid intern for her campaign, but said she did not know about the video he taped in May before he began working for her.

Preston Scagnelli was the teen identified as recording Cobb at a “Teens for Tedra” event a couple of months ago. Cobb made comments on the video stating that she thinks assault weapons should be banned, but added that she cannot take that position publicly and get elected in the NY-21 Congressional District.

Stefanik, R-Willsboro, said that Scagnelli began interning in June. She said she plans to keep him on the campaign and said she did not have an issue with the fact that Scagnelli used the fake name “Grayson” and said he was not recording because his phone was dead, but he actually was.

<snip>

Scagnelli was paid nearly $1,000 by the National Republican Congressional Committee for his “research materials consulting,” which likely included the Cobb video and other instances where he tracked Cobb. The video was uploaded to the YouTube channel “Democrat Tracking” and picked up by national Republicans and the conservative Washington Free Beacon website.


https://poststar.com/news/local/stefanik-says-teen-who-taped-cobb-video-is-unpaid-intern/article_342965a1-3c68-51f8-aed8-bc8991f95f54.html